The last word, however should go to the residents, and a University of Sydney study into people's attitudes at shark attack hotspots -- Ballina, and the Western Australian regions of Mandurah and Mindarie -- showed the majority didn't want a cull.

Researcher Christopher Neff said 75 percent of respondents wanted non-lethal means of dealing with sharks and 59 percent agreed no one was to blame after an attack.

"The remarkable thing about the Western Australian results is that after 10 tragic and fatal shark bite incidents since 2010 the public would still prefer the West Australian government to adopt non-lethal policy responses," Neff said.